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Step 2 - Defining Tile MatchingTile matching is defined in separate tile matching windows. There's one window to create, delete and rename tile matching definitions, as well as load existing definitions for editing. This is called the management window. The other window is used to perform the actual definition of matching tiles. Both windows will be described in this step of the tutorial. |
To get started, select "Tile Matching" from the view menu in the main project window. This brings up the tile matching management window. There are currently no "TileMatch" objects defined. There should be one tileset containing the graphics from step 1 of the tutorial. This tileset was named "Tutorial". If you do not have this tileset in the project, you can load it from the existing image: Select "TileSets" from the View menu in the main project window; enter the name "Tutorial" in the tileset name box; ensure tile width and height are both 32; click "Load Image" and locate Tutorial.bmp.
To create a tile matching definition or "TileMatch" for the Tutorial tileset, click on "Tutorial" in the "Available Tilesets" box and click the Create button. When prompted for the name, enter something like "TutorialMatch". When this step is done the TileMatch definition screen appears.
In this dialog
there are 15 slots into which tiles can be categorized. For the
sake of reference let's give them these names, respectively, from
top left in reading order to the bottom right:
Top-Left, Top, Top-Right, Southeast Inner Corner, Southwest Inner Corner, Left, Center, Right, Northeast Inner Corner, Northwest Inner Corner, Bottom-Left, Bottom, Bottom-Right, Northwest-Southeast Joiner, Northeast-Southwest Joiner.
Images in the bottom box represent all the tiles in the tileset. Drag images from here in order to classify them as part of the TileMatch. They can be dragged into one of the slots at the top to categorize the tile in that slot. They can also be dragged into the "Tiles in current slot" box in which case they will be classified into the currently selected slot. This box displays all tiles in the currently selected slot and allows you to remove tiles from the slot by dragging them back to the tileset box.
Tiles can also be dragged into the "Unclassified tiles" box. This is the category reserved for tiles that can be affected by this tilematch, but are never drawn onto the screen by using the tilematch.
Using the image above as a guide, drag tiles from the tileset at the bottom into the slots at the top. There should be only one tile per slot unless you have defined two tiles for the "Center" slot as was done in the included Tutorial.bmp. The graphics created in step one only provided for one tile per slot excepting the center slot. Although the tutorial tileset contains some extra tiles without the smoothed diagonal lines which duplicate existing tiles that do have diagonal lines, these should not be included in the tilematch as they will not fit very nicely with the rest of the tiles.
All the tiles that are half black and half grey with a diagonal edge belong in the corner positions "Top-Left", "Top-Right", "Bottom-Left" and "Bottom Right". Edge tiles go between these. The tile with an "exterior pixel" (light grey) at the top-left, and a constant grey covering the bottom right half of the tile goes in the "Southeast Inner Corner" slot. Three similar tiles follow the same pattern. The last slot has "exterior pixels" at the top left and bottom right. The inner grey part slopes up and to the right. This is the "Northeast-Southwest joiner". The prior slot is similar, but flipped.
There is no need for the "Unclassified tiles" box in this tutorial. This would be used if, for instance, there were other metal blocks that you wanted to adjoin nicely to blocks in this TileMatch, but did not want this TileMatch to generate these blocks itself when editing the map.
When all the slots are filled in properly, this TileMatch is done! Close the dialog and move on to the next step to see the real magic! Before you do, you may wish to save the project at this point. From the main project window, select Save from the File menu. TileMatch information is stored in the project file.
This concludes Step 2 of the GameDev tutorial - Defining Tile Matching.